“… a quarrelsome1
wife is like
the constant dripping of a leaky roof.” Proverbs 19:13
Christian men love to throw Ephesians 5:22 at their
wives. It says “Wives submit to your
husbands … .” In Greek class many
years ago I learned that practice is called eisegesis
which, in a nutshell, is taking a verse or verses of scripture out of
context to support ones own biased agenda.
These same men are never interested in quoting Ephesians 5:25 which says
“Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her … .”
If you love your spouse as Christ loved and still loves
the church, perhaps she wouldn’t be disagreeable. Do you pray for her? Do you listen to her problems and concerns
with compassion and understanding? There
are times when women just want to vent and are not necessarily looking for your
input. They aren’t looking for advice or
a way to fix the problem. They just want
to know that they can tell you anything and you will listen with a caring
heart.
It is God’s desire that marriages thrive; yet 41% of all
marriages end in divorce. I, myself,
have been divorced not once, but twice. While
not proud of that fact, I can say that regardless of who is at fault, divorce
is not the answer. Hurt feelings and
betrayed hearts can make it a very rough go.
Once trust has been breeched it is very difficult to gain back. Only the Lord can provide the balm that can
heal broken marriages.
So if you want to keep your wife from being contentious
and argumentative, treat her with respect and loving kindness. It is not how she is behaving but how you are
reacting to that behavior that counts.
You can only control your own actions, not those of your spouse. Live according to the word of the Lord and
trust Him to sort the rest out. Until
next time, walk with the Lord and be a blessing!
1 Contentious, argumentative,
disagreeable.
